Mark Zuckerberg Built a Computer Program to Beat a High-Schooler at Scrabble (Report)

When it comes to board games, Mark Zuckerberg apparently takes winning and losing about as seriously as Kobe Bryant.

One example, in a Monday profile from the New Yorker, highlights the Facebook chief’s competitive side: Playing against a friend’s high school-age daughter in Scrabble aboard a corporate jet a few years ago, Zuckerberg lost — and he didn’t plan to lose the rematch.

“Before they played a second game, he wrote a simple computer program that would look up his letters in the dictionary so that he could choose from all possible words,” according to the New Yorker.

The move worked out. Zuckerberg held a “narrow lead” as the flight touched down.

“During the game in which I was playing the program, everyone around us was taking sides: Team Human and Team Machine,” the young woman told the New Yorker.

This isn’t much of a shock. To get to the top, you often have to be cutthroat — especially in the dog-eat-dog world of Silicon Valley. “Domination!” Zuckerberg would often exclaim while wrapping up team meetings, according to the New Yorker. Facebook has also been quick to gobble up potential threats — acquiring a slew of companies, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus under Zuckerberg’s aegis.

“If we’re going to achieve what we want to, it’s not just about building the best features. It’s about building the best community,” Zuckerberg told the New Yorker. “I care about succeeding. And, yes, sometimes you have to beat someone to something, in order to get to the next thing. But that’s not primarily the way that I think I roll.”

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.

House Intelligence Committee

Many posts pushed the narrative that Hillary Clinton would confiscate guns if she were elected President.

House Intelligence Committee

This graphic meme painted cops as KKK members attacking a young black child.

House Intelligence Committee

Only "sissies" and other undesirables wouldn't support Donald Trump, many of the memes said.

House Intelligence Committee

President Obama was a "pawn" and "traitor" in the hands of "Arabian Sheikhs," said one 2016 ad.

Russian trolls also used Instagram to spread sponsored political memes.

House Intelligence Committee

The "Blacktivist" page routinely shared memes on Colin Kaepernick and other football players kneeling during the national anthem.

House Intelligence Committee

"Heart of Texas" routinely posted on "Killary Rotten Clinton," and threatened to secede from the union if she won the election.

House Intelligence Committee

The "Being Patriotic" page labeled ex-cons as "Obama voters."

House Intelligence Committee

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Congress just released 3,500 posts touching on a myriad of topics

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released more than 3,500 advertisements and posts spread by Russian trolls before and after the 2016 U.S. election. Below is a look at 10 of the most shocking examples that stood out from Congress's reveal.